The present invention relates to water heating systems attached to coal-burning or wood-burning stoves in which the heat from the stove is utilized to raise the temperature of the water used for household and other purposes, the process being called "indirect heating" by those skilled in the art.
Some prior hot-water systems use auxilliary piping in conjunction with a stove to transfer heat from the stove to water flowing through the piping. While these systems heat water economically by using heat recovered from the stove, these systems have serious drawbacks. For example, the hot-water system of U.S. Pat. No. 567,593 to Hallowell employs a water-back or heating pot which is located inside the stove, next to the stove's coiled firepot. The location of the water-back makes the system difficult to install and service. Further, the water temperature produced by the Hallowell system cannot be regulated without raising or lowering the heat of the stove itself, i.e., by changing the fuel consumption, or by installing additional hardware to shield the firepot to lower the water temperature.
In view of the recent energy crisis and the attendant rise in home heating costs, wood-burning stoves have enjoyed a revival in their use as home heating systems. Accordingly, it is a principal object of the present invention to provide a novel water-heater system with a heat-sink module that can be easily attached to an external wall of a wood-burning stove to transfer heat from the stove to water flowing through the module, to pre-heat the water for subsequent household use.
It is another object to provide the heat-sink module with a simple control knob to regulate the water temperature produced by the system.
It is yet another object to provide a water-heater system, commensurate with the above-listed objects, which can be used as either the principal hot-water system or as a means to augment an existing system.
It is a further object to provide a heat-sink module that is inexpensive and easy to install, yet safe and effective to use.
The above and other object and advantages of this invention will become more readily apparent when the following description is read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.